7 of 7
Bio: 7 of 7 are a 6 piece Progressive rock act from Glasgow, Scotland. We combine unique time signatures, heavy riffs and melodic yet powerful vocals to create our sound.
Our band is made up of the following members;
Stephen McGuinness: Bass/Vox
Stephen Dowling: Guitar/Vox
Sean O’Neil : Lead Vox
Gary Donlin : Keys/Vox
Craig McCormack : Guitar
Anton MacAuley: Drums
Three of us went to school together and played music throughout that time in various bands but our love of Progressive rock brought us together to create a new band. The Band was completed when Craig and Sean joined and we called ourselves 7 of 7
Genre: We class ourselves as a Progressive Rock band, we basically play the music we love. Being from Scotland, There isn’t much of a scene for Progressive Rock. We have found that Europe and the USA are more accepting of our style of music and we have had great feedback from these areas.
Ideas about the album: We recently went in to record with Bruce Rintoul (Glasgow’s recording genius) and we are very happy with the tracks. We recorded two songs named “Barbara Bush” and “Whispers”. We practiced for months with a click track so by the time we came to record the tracks we were pretty much in the best condition to record. Can you guess how many time changes there are in “Barbara Bush”?
I would say the tracks blend soft intricate parts with some cracking heavy riffs and really powerful vocals.
Reception: We have had a great reception with the new recordings. I would say that the tracks have been best received in the USA. They seem to love our style over there and have no hesitation in giving us some airplay. They always seem keen to give feedback and have set up some interviews to let listeners get to know us better.
Preference; live or studio: That’s a really hard question for us as we love doing both. Id say that recording is fun and rewarding if you are prepared for it. If your not then it can be a really stressful and painstaking experience. Luckily for us we practice very hard to make sure we are ready to play and record at the drop of a hat. We love the buzz you get off of playing live though and would love to get ourselves out on the road and do it every night
Next step; live or studio: We are always playing live around Scotland. Its what we love doing and we are in the midst of setting up a summer tour, Nothing massive just an indepently run one.
We are also setting up some dates for recording more material. This year is the year that we plan to gig extensively to get our name out there.
Future plans: We are always looking for some support slots for touring bands, its definitely the best way to play to new people and gather new fans.
Composers: Our Guitarist Stephen will come to practice with some riffs that he has written. Then we jam them out as a band and try to add to them. Its a fun process as you can really see the songs evolve. Gary writes the lyrics usually and the we go over them as a band and see what we can either add or change. We take our time over writing new songs, Sometimes they come to you really fast and other times you need to work really hard to get the final product. We are a pretty hands on band and all love being involved in the process of writing new material.
Inspirations: We draw influence from so many bands and artists. Id say we are inspired by acts such as Tool, Dream Theater, Pink Floyd, Alterbridge, Muse, Coheed and Cambria, Killswitch Engage, Mastodon, Pantera, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Alexisonfire, Queens of the stoneage and Oasis to name a few haha.
Preference; cater to the audience or music for its own sake: We genuinely write the music we love playing. Its pretty much a natural process for us. We don’t follow trends or scenes. These trends die out eventually. So if i was ever to give any advice it would be write music that comes naturally to you, DONT follow trends.
Greatest Accomplishment: We have supported some great bands in Glasgow, We have played on the same bill as Karnivool, Arcane Roots, Hacktivist and were involved in the Rock n Roll damnation tour which included bands such as Limp Bizket. Being played on the radio is always a great experience, to hear your music on the air is an amazing feeling. We have had airplay on BBC Introducing, BBC 6, Radio Scotland as well as some great stations in the USA.
Anything else? We are a very serious band when it come to playing live but we love having a laugh and we love chatting to new fans, So if you ever catch us playing live then please come and chat to us. Keep Rockin and help spread the word about 7 of 7
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